UK and Overseas Mortgages

"...it's the man in the street that will be hit the hardest and left holding yet another of the governments pension babies "

A NEW buzz phrase enter the Overseas property market late last year as proposed saving and investing as pension changes where circulated. The property industry was rubbing its hands in anticipation of a huge wave of new jet-to-let property owners, exploiting the relaxation of the rules governing self-invested personal pension schemes, or Sipps in April.

SIPPs & April 2007

The government's recent u-turn on sipps will not affect those existing property owners next year, but what about those who have already started to make plans for post 2006?

We believe residential overseas property was always going to be a small element of the sipp market, and the u-turn will not effect many buyers at all as sipps are still particularly valid, especially for those who are members of employer share schemes.

We are disappointment residential property would not be included, as the overseas property market would have reach an all new level, and that our biggest disappointment is that it has been left until the 11th hour before the Government changed the goal posts.

"I believe that due to this u-turn many people have lost potentially £1,000's not even taking in to account their time & traveling to find fine the overseas property," says Steve Morgan of New Mortgage Finder. He puts this down to deposits already paid on property which would be non refundable in these circumstances. These deposits represent up to 10% of the purchase price in places like France.

While we understand only a small percentage of the UK population would actually be able to take advantage of the investment options behind self-invested pensions, there has been a huge amount of coverage in the press and providers about the ability to invest in residential property and include it in a sipp and some providers have used it as an early part of their marketing about the opportunities behind A-Day.

However, it's the man in the street that will be hit the hardest and left holding yet another of the governments pension babies.

Steve Morgan says: "This could be a big problem for small businesses who have spent a lot money, although not as much as the providers, it will represent a much higher pound for pound %, they can't afford these losses and it may be the case that this could break them."

With all the speculation about the possibility of law suits from people unhappy with being sold a sipp on the basis of residential property despite sipps themselves being unregulated - a transfer into a sipp is a regulated activity and could therfore be actionable - although the majority of their sipp business in terms of value has come from transfers from other schemes, it would those clients advisers that will be concerned. Under FSA rules the advisers take the responsibility for the advice not the provider.

He adds: "What IFAs need to do is go back over their suitability letters for Sipp sales over the last few months and check the wording they've used to make sure they have covered themselves. If they haven't got it buttoned up and there is a gap then that could be a real issue."

Our services are now available to all UK residents buying commercial Overseas or selling houses in these regions...

Aberdeen, Aylesbury, Banbury, Barnsley, Basingstoke, Bath, Bedford, Belfast, Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Bury, Cambridge, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chester, Chesterfield, Chichester, Colchester, Coventry, Crawley, Croydon, Darlington, Derby, Doncaster, Dumfries, Dundee, Dunfermline, Durham, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Guildford, Halifax, Harrogate, Hereford, Hove, Huddersfield, Hull, Inverness, Ipswich, Kettering, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Loughborough, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oldham, Oxford, Perth, Peterborough, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Salisbury, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Slough, Southampton, Southend, St Albans, Stevenage, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Swindon, Taunton, Telford, Torquay, Walsall, Warrington, Watford, Weymouth, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, York.

and in these urban areas...

London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leicester, KingstonuponHull, Coventry, Bradford, Cardiff, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Belfast, Plymouth, Derby, Reading, Southampton, Aberdeen, NewcastleuponTyne, Preston, Sunderland, Luton, Portsmouth, Norwich, Swansea, Bournemouth, Southend-on-Sea, Swindon, Dundee, Blackpool, Poole, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Huddersfield, Bolton, Stockport, Ipswich, York, Brighton, Rotherham, Oxford, Gloucester, Newport, Watford, Slough, Blackburn, Basildon, SaintHelens, Northampton, Oldham, Woking-Byfleet, Chelmsford, Colchester. Also now France, Italy, South Africa, Portugal and Spain.